Getting into Doctor Who.

[Dusk Eclipse]

So I just got a netflix account and they have Doctor Who 2005 and onwards. For some time I've been really curious about the series; but until now I wasn't really sure if I should. My primary question is if I should know something about the previous Doctors to enjoy the series (quick google search shows that the series are about the 9th doctor and onwards).

Thanks in advance.

[Eldan]

Not really, no. At the point the 2005 series came on, the series had been stopped for almost twenty years. The newer episodes have a nod here and there to the old continuity, but it's not required. I watched the first 2005 episode without any prior knowledge (I had never heard of Doctor Who before) and enjoyed it. you probably know more than I did.

Enjoy! Just give it a bit of time, the first few episodes aren't the best.

Give us a few comments about what you think when you see it, that's always fun.

If you are unsure, I can say this:
The series is essentially about a crazy super-powered alien taking humans on trips through space and time for fun. You have to be able to tolerate a lot of sillyness, but the pay-off is great. The fun episodes are amazing romps, the emotional episodes are deep and tragic, and the best episodes are both. The series as a whole is just grand.

Give it time until Dalek or The Doctor Dances, at least.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Well my knowledge of Doctor who is basically:

a) He is a Time lord, which apparently are a race of alliens capable of reincarnation and time trave

b) they have been at war with several other races for all the time

c)Daleks are funky robotic things that SPEAK LIKE THIS LIKE THIS.

... that is pretty much it.

[Gavinfoxx]

You don't need to watch any of the old series to have a full and complete understanding of the new one.

Going back and watching select episodes that were considered 'really good', once you have caught up with the new series, is an okay idea.

[Eldan]

Gratulations, you know everything you need to know for the facts.

Though there is also the question of the tone. Whle hte effects got a lot better than they were in the sixties through eighties, Doctor Who is still often a silly, silly show with rhinoceros space policemen and scenery pulverizing overacting. Quite often, it does not take itself remotely seriously. It still works, and very well.

[Water_Bear]

The first few seasons (series for you wacky brits among us) are pretty good, but IMO the show really started falling apart around when Torchwood started and I haven't watched it in years.

The things to remember is that it is among the softest of Soft SF on TV, that the Doctor can and will do anything if the script requires it no matter how absurd, and that continuity (both in the literal 'time' sense and the narrative one) is completely b0rked. Your enjoyment will likely come from the performances of the actors and quality of the production rather than from the writing, and if that isn't enough you'll likely drop out as the actors get worse and worse and the plots get more and more self-indulgent over its run.

[Dusk Eclipse]

I have a pretty high suspension of disbelief in any case. I'll give it a test run later tonight (or during the week) and I'll tell you if I liked it.

[Weezer]

The first few seasons (series for you wacky brits among us) are pretty good, but IMO the show really started falling apart around when Torchwood started and I haven't watched it in years.

The things to remember is that it is among the softest of Soft SF on TV, that the Doctor can and will do anything if the script requires it no matter how absurd, and that continuity (both in the literal 'time' sense and the narrative one) is completely b0rked. Your enjoyment will likely come from the performances of the actors and quality of the production rather than from the writing, and if that isn't enough you'll likely drop out as the actors get worse and worse and the plots get more and more self-indulgent over its run.

Have you watched any of season 5 onwards? Essentially everyone involved changed that season (from the Doctor to the showrunner) and since then it has changed a lot. Some like the change, others hate it, but if you didn't like the direction it was taking seasons in 3/4, the later seasons may draw you back in.

[Water_Bear]

Have you watched any of season 5 onwards? Essentially everyone involved changed that season (from the Doctor to the showrunner) and since then it has changed a lot. Some like the change, others hate it, but if you didn't like the direction it was taking seasons in 3/4, the later seasons may draw you back in.

I've heard a lot of good things about the new seasons, but also a lot of really disheartening stuff. It seems like individual episodes are getting better but the plot is even more emotionally manipulative and silly than ever, with Amy/Rory stupidity replacing the obnoxious Rose/Doctor cannonshipping and the Doctor pretending to be dead... even in the past when people wouldn't know about the event which supposedly killed him. That and the drama about the production is very dismaying, though I would love to be proven wrong and get some more good Who.

[Tvtyrant]

The closest tenor to Doctor Who is Douglas Adams (who was a Doctor Who writer at one point) and his Hitchhikers series. They have quite a bit in common, with the biggest difference being the focus on the an average man in Hitchhikers, while in Doctor Who it is often more focused on the guide.

[Weezer]

I've heard a lot of good things about the new seasons, but also a lot of really disheartening stuff. It seems like individual episodes are getting better but the plot is even more emotionally manipulative and silly than ever, with Amy/Rory stupidity replacing the obnoxious Rose/Doctor cannonshipping and the Doctor pretending to be dead... even in the past when people wouldn't know about the event which supposedly killed him. That and the drama about the production is very dismaying, though I would love to be proven wrong and get some more good Who.

Why not give it a chance? The things you mentioned can be made sound a lot worse than they are when seen out of context (and an answer to the second pert was easily inferred from events, which was then explicitly confirmed in one of the more recent episodes).



@TVTyrant That is an apt comparison, especially since Adams was the head writer for a large chink of Tom Baker's era. The plot for the first Dirk Gently book is actually largely drawn from one of the episodes he wrote (City of Death)'

[Zrak]

I feel like the more I know/remember about the old Doctor Who, the more lackluster the new one is in comparison. It's silliness/camp factor just isn't what it used to be.

[Dusk Eclipse]

So yesterday I watched the first 3 episodes... and I absolutely loved them! I am very glad I finally decided to watch the series, now I am worried I will finish it too soon as Netflix only has the first 3 seasons...

[Strife Warzeal]

So yesterday I watched the first 3 episodes... and I absolutely loved them! I am very glad I finally decided to watch the series, now I am worried I will finish it too soon as Netflix only has the first 3 seasons...

???

It has the first 6 seasons, including the christmas episodes; which in my experience are difficult to find through other sources.

[Dusk Eclipse]

From what I understand what shows and seasons are on Netflix varies from country to country and unless I didn't check well, here in México it only has up to season 3.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Amy/Rory stupidity replacing the obnoxious Rose/Doctor cannonshipping
Oh, no. The former is not nearly as bothersome as the latter. Not at all.

From what I understand what shows and seasons are on Netflix varies from country to country and unless I didn't check well, here in México it only has up to season 3.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Eldan]

You poor person. Season four is awesome and season five is quite unbad.

[Dienekes]

I've heard a lot of good things about the new seasons, but also a lot of really disheartening stuff. It seems like individual episodes are getting better but the plot is even more emotionally manipulative and silly than ever, with Amy/Rory stupidity replacing the obnoxious Rose/Doctor cannonshipping and the Doctor pretending to be dead... even in the past when people wouldn't know about the event which supposedly killed him. That and the drama about the production is very dismaying, though I would love to be proven wrong and get some more good Who.

For the record. I despised the Rose/Doctoring but Amy/Rory has become one of the three fictional romances I don't actively root against. The Doctor pretending to be dead thing only comes up in series 7. Though if you're opposed to silly plots, yeah you're not going to like it.

I'm a Doctor Who fan, most definitely. But the plot is ridiculous, idiotic, and has holes that a truck could drive through with room to spare. Doctor Who is about getting caught in the moment of the scary, exciting, and interesting bits to the point that you forget how ridiculous it all is. If you can, it's awesome, if you can't it won't be. Though I'll just say, while I enjoy season 5-6, so far 7 has not gotten me caught up enough to forget the ridiculous of it all. But that's just me.

[Eldan]

Yeah. Really, the two main things that bother me about Seasons 5+ are that I never quite got used to Matt Smith (I still don't think he plays a proper Timelord. He lacks Grandness. He doesn't have the fury. He isn't the Oncoming Storm, he's a child.) The second is that the energy seems to be missing. I don't get excited and caught up anymore. I could tolerate much more silliness if it was entertaining.

[Tiki Snakes]

Yeah. Really, the two main things that bother me about Seasons 5+ are that I never quite got used to Matt Smith (I still don't think he plays a proper Timelord. He lacks Grandness. He doesn't have the fury. He isn't the Oncoming Storm, he's a child.) The second is that the energy seems to be missing. I don't get excited and caught up anymore. I could tolerate much more silliness if it was entertaining.

Well, Not sure why I'm spoilering this, but why not?
Grandness isn't a guarentee in a timelord. It's not even a guarantee in the Doctor. I mean, consider Patrick Troughton, Peter Davidson or Silvester McCoy.

[Hopeless]

Yeah. Really, the two main things that bother me about Seasons 5+ are that I never quite got used to Matt Smith (I still don't think he plays a proper Timelord. He lacks Grandness. He doesn't have the fury. He isn't the Oncoming Storm, he's a child.) The second is that the energy seems to be missing. I don't get excited and caught up anymore. I could tolerate much more silliness if it was entertaining.

Well other than being a mad man with a box, anyone taking on that role is going to have hard time being more manic than Tennant!:smallbiggrin:

The one advantage they could have used is making him fit in the background which Doc 10 certainly shouldn't have been able to (Daleks in Manhatten for example) but unlike Tennant I expect Doc 11 to demonstrate that whilst his predecessor makes a big deal about having had so much mercy, the highlight for me is when its mentioned a good man doesn't need any rules Doc 11 points out this isn't the time to wonder why he has so many!:smallwink:

[Dienekes]

Yeah. Really, the two main things that bother me about Seasons 5+ are that I never quite got used to Matt Smith (I still don't think he plays a proper Timelord. He lacks Grandness. He doesn't have the fury. He isn't the Oncoming Storm, he's a child.) The second is that the energy seems to be missing. I don't get excited and caught up anymore. I could tolerate much more silliness if it was entertaining.

To each their own. Personally Matt is my favorite of the newWho Doctors. The childlike nature makes it more fun, not less. And energy is the one thing he does not lack. It's only season 7 that was a let down for me, because I think each episode had very large flaws that I could not personally ignore. But even then there were parts that were brilliant in each episode, or at least had the potential to be.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

To each their own. Personally Matt is my favorite of the newWho Doctors. The childlike nature makes it more fun, not less. And energy is the one thing he does not lack. It's only season 7 that was a let down for me, because I think each episode had very large flaws that I could not personally ignore. But even then there were parts that were brilliant in each episode, or at least had the potential to be.

While Season 7 was/is certainly the worst one of the NuWho for me because of those flaws you mentioned, I can't blame Smith for it. He is an exceptional Doctor...just not Tennant.

Eleven can do manic, he can jump around like a little boy riding a sugar high and hit the dark, dramatic tones necessary for a 900+ year old Timelord. But when he tries to do angry, he falls flat. Rory can do true rage far better than Eleven, just because he doesn't look and sound like he's throwing a tantrum. I almost laughed a few times while Eleven stomped around yelling at the sky back in "The Pandorica Opens".

But Ten? He could do Fury. While he was still manic and crazy and dramatic, the fury of the Timelord was utterly devastating. Eleven shakes his fist and hops around shouting at people and objects. Ten just glares at you. He gives you a look that could make Death himself blanch. He looks you dead in the eye while he utterly destroys you and everything you love, and it is terrifying in it's grandeur.

Grandeur isn't a prerequisite to be a Timelord, but Ten had that in spades.

[Dienekes]

True, I'll say Tennant was probably a better actor than Smith. Actually take the probably from that last sentence. He was. But by the end of his run I didn't like his Doctor. The constant mooning over Rose, his blatant hypocrisy, and his repulsive melodramatic conclusion. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[Tvtyrant]

True, I'll say Tennant was probably a better actor than Smith. Actually take the probably from that last sentence. He was. But by the end of his run I didn't like his Doctor. The constant mooning over Rose, his blatant hypocrisy, and his repulsive melodramatic conclusion. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I agree with pretty much everything said in this post.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Honestly, Eccleston's fury was what sold it for me, but that's perhaps something for a different thread...

[JoshL]

I've loved the progression from Doctor to Doctor.

Eccleston's Doctor was a step away from PTSD. His absolute rage at the beginning is tempered by Rose by the end of the series.

Then Tennant's Doctor was a bit more a part of the world. And he felt better than the world. He was selfish and hypocritical and on more than one occasion, gets called out on it.

So then Smith's Doctor was intentionally more child-like and whimsical. He's the funny old doctor. And at the same time, he seems much OLDER than the previous two. Like a guy in a retirement home trying to prove to the kids he's still hip and doesn't really want them off his lawn...the fact that he's physically younger just accentuates that.

I like them all, both in individual series and when looking at it as a whole. Fun stuff.

[Weezer]

I've loved the progression from Doctor to Doctor.

Eccleston's Doctor was a step away from PTSD. His absolute rage at the beginning is tempered by Rose by the end of the series.

Then Tennant's Doctor was a bit more a part of the world. And he felt better than the world. He was selfish and hypocritical and on more than one occasion, gets called out on it.

So then Smith's Doctor was intentionally more child-like and whimsical. He's the funny old doctor. And at the same time, he seems much OLDER than the previous two. Like a guy in a retirement home trying to prove to the kids he's still hip and doesn't really want them off his lawn...the fact that he's physically younger just accentuates that.

I like them all, both in individual series and when looking at it as a whole. Fun stuff.

I like you. I think you nailed his character progression pretty well (barring the last half season, where there have been some pretty major changes to 11's character)

[Blightedmarsh]

The first doctor had extremely sinister subtext. Pertwee (three) is the old one I remember the best.

Whilst my favorite is probably ten my favorite companion was Ace. Now that was a chick who could look after herself better than the doctor.

[Das Platyvark]

My biggest problem with Tennant is that he seems too human. He's good and all, he's got the emotion down, but fundamentally he's a normal human being who's well and easy to relate to, and is a melodramatic ideal. The Doctor is far too close to human perfection as it is, so he needs some alien spirit to balance it out. That's what I like about Matt Smith—He's mostly normal, but he has these moments that make him seem decidedly inhuman.

[Chromascope3D]

So, having only watched one episode of Nine's run, most of Ten's run, and the first season of Eleven's run, I'm curious...

Is there a canonical reason that the Doctor gets progressively younger each time he regenerates?

[CarpeGuitarrem]

So, having only watched one episode of Nine's run, most of Ten's run, and the first season of Eleven's run, I'm curious...

Is there a canonical reason that the Doctor gets progressively younger each time he regenerates?
No canonical reason. That's just how it's happened. Though you could read it into his character, for various motivations. It would actually make a lot of sense.

[Weezer]

So, having only watched one episode of Nine's run, most of Ten's run, and the first season of Eleven's run, I'm curious...

Is there a canonical reason that the Doctor gets progressively younger each time he regenerates?

Ne, no given reason. However, I have my theory is that he's pretending to be the opposite of what he is. As Hartnell he looked really old, but often acted like an anti-social teen. As time progresses he acts more 'mature' while at the same time his appearance looks less abd less so.

[Hopeless]

The easiest answer to this is that he's Merlin.

In the 7th doctor era I believe the name of that set of episodes is "Battlefield" the Doctor actually is "Merlin"!

Otherwise I believe its because the choices for each incarnation of the Doctor has steadily grown younger I believe the BBc have got into trouble for removing their older presenters and replacing them with younger versions but thats an argument for another thread!

[dariathalon]

The doctor has gotten older too, at times. If you look back to the transitions 5 to 6 to 7, each of them was older than the previous.

I think the original intention for Matt Smith's doctor was to pick someone older for the role. I seem to recall an interview from around the time saying that they really wanted someone older, but Smith just knocked it out of the ballpark in his audition so they took him anyway.

[turkishproverb]

So, having only watched one episode of Nine's run, most of Ten's run, and the first season of Eleven's run, I'm curious...

Is there a canonical reason that the Doctor gets progressively younger each time he regenerates?

He doesn't.

3 was "older" than 2, 6 was "older" than 5, and 7 and 6 were pretty close, with the actor only being a couple months younger.

[Sanguine]

Its worth noting that 5 was the youngest until 11 came along.

[dariathalon]

He doesn't.

3 was "older" than 2, 6 was "older" than 5, and 7 and 6 were pretty close, with the actor only being a couple months younger.

Hrm... 6 and 7 were really that close? Wow, I would have given them at least a good 5-10 year difference, judging on looks. For some reason 6 just looked a lot younger to me.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Finished Season 1 last night. It was AWESOME, though I didn't quite catch how did the Daleks survive.

[Kato]

Finished Season 1 last night. It was AWESOME, though I didn't quite catch how did the Daleks survive.

:smallbiggrin: Guys, he is expecting ANSWERS in Doctor Who.
Sorry, but once in a while (and later in Moffat's run more often than not) the answer will be "because it makes for a good plot". That's really what drives the story, not logic and explanations.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Finished Season 1 last night. It was AWESOME, though I didn't quite catch how did the Daleks survive.
The Daleks are in-universe defined as being eternal survivors, and as long as some of them survive, they've been shown capable of reconstructing their entire race from a mere handful of Daleks.

This frustrates the Doctor to no end, as the Time Lords haven't managed to do the same.

[Dienekes]

Finished Season 1 last night. It was AWESOME, though I didn't quite catch how did the Daleks survive.

I think in the episode it's mentioned in brief, the insane Dalek Emperor fled the destruction of the Dalek race and was manipulating the DNA of humans to recreate the Daleks from scratch.

Get used to this. I'm a Dalek fan, but there pretty much space cockroaches, angry, genocidal, tank wearing cockroaches, you can wipe them out as much as you want but they're always gonna come back.